Release courtesy of the WIAC
MADISON, Wis.– Brooke Merila of Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) has been selected recipient of the 2022 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Judy Kruckman Women’s Gymnastics Scholar-Athlete Award.
A senior from St. Michael, Minn. (St. Michael-Albertville), Merila boasts a 3.966 grade point average and is majoring in nursing. She was named to the 2020-21 Academic All-America® At-Large Third Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Merila is a three-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll and appeared on her institution’s Dean’s List numerous semesters. She has received academic scholarships from her institution.
Merila secured All-America honors with a fourth-place finish in the all-around at the 2019 NCGA Championship. She was chosen to the WIAC All-Sportsmanship Team this year and has served as a team captain the last four seasons. She was her team’s Freshman Female Athlete of the Year in 2019, and received the Hardest Worker Award in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, she received the Most Dedicated Award.
Merila has served as a NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Member for the last three years. She is a Fellow Christian Athlete Leader and Delight Women’s Ministry Leader. Merila has been a Residential Assistant and a Pediatric Cancer Outreach Crew Member. She has volunteered with gymnastics camps and Special Olympics and her work experiences include: sports event management; cafeteria worker; and overnight nursing clinicals.
Also nominated for this year’s scholar-athlete award were: UW-Eau Claire’s Danielle Malecha (Sr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Rosemount); Hamline University’s Kathryn Kalland (Sr., Maplewood, Minn./Roseville); UW-La Crosse’s Emma Grant (Sr., Memphis, Tenn./Briarcrest Christian School); UW-Oshkosh’s Emily Gilot (Sr., St. Peters, Mo./Living Word Christian); UW-Whitewater’s Emily North (Sr., Oklahoma City, Okla./Moore); and Winona State University’s Katherine Curtis (Sr., Watertown, Wis./Watertown).
The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is named after Judy Kruckman who served as Assistant Commissioner for the WIAC from 1996-98. Prior to this appointment, she was Commissioner of the Wisconsin Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WWIAC) from October, 1984 – September, 1996. Kruckman was the women’s athletics director at UW-Eau Claire from 1974-84, and one of the original representatives to the WWIAC when it formed in 1971. She was inducted into the WIAC Hall of Fame in 2012.
In order to be nominated for the scholar-athlete award, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.50 grade point average. In addition, she must be in her last year of competition, or on schedule to graduate this academic year, and have competed for a minimum of two years. The award is based on academic achievements, athletics accomplishments and involvement in other campus activities, organizations and community service projects.